Not Only but Also: نه تنها ... بلکه | Farsi Grammar

Persian نه‌تنها ... بلکه means “not only ... but (also).” It affirms the first proposition and then adds a second one that is broader, stronger, or less expected: او نه‌تنها عذرخواهی کرد، بلکه خسارت را هم پرداخت “she not only apologized but also paid the damages.” The initial نه does not make the first fact false; تنها limits an expectation, and بلکه expands beyond it.

The balanced frame

Coordinated unit	Pattern	What should remain parallel
noun phrase	نه‌تنها X بلکه Y هم	two subjects or objects
prepositional phrase	نه‌تنها برای X بلکه برای Y نیز	repeat the preposition when clarity requires
predicate property	نه‌تنها X بلکه Y است	two adjectives or nominals
full clause	نه‌تنها clause، بلکه clause هم	complete contrasting predicates

این دوره نه‌تنها برای دانشجویان بلکه برای مدیران هم مفید است.

in dowre na-tanhâ barâ-ye dâneshjuyân balke barâ-ye modirân ham mofid ast.

This course is useful not only for students but also for managers. (formal-neutral; parallel prepositional phrases)

راه‌حل پیشنهادی نه‌تنها گران بلکه ناکارآمد است.

râh-hall-e pishnehâdi na-tanhâ gerân balke nâkârâmad ast.

The proposed solution is not only expensive but also ineffective. (formal-neutral; parallel adjectives)

لیلا نه‌تنها مقاله را ویرایش کرد، بلکه منابع را هم دوباره بررسی کرد.

Leylâ na-tanhâ maqâle râ virâyesh kard, balke manâbe' râ ham dobâre barrasi kard.

Leyla not only edited the article but also rechecked the sources. (neutral; parallel clauses)

The second member frequently carries additive هم in neutral Persian or نیز in more formal prose. بلکه already establishes expansion, so هم/نیز is not always obligatory, but it makes the “also” relation explicit and often improves balance.

Parallel constituents are the key

Place نه‌تنها directly before the first constituent in the contrast and بلکه before a constituent of the same kind. This determines the scope.

این تصمیم نه‌تنها هزینه‌ها بلکه زمان اجرا را هم کاهش می‌دهد.

in tasmim na-tanhâ hazine-hâ balke zamân-e ejrâ râ ham kâhesh mi-dahad.

This decision reduces not only costs but also implementation time. (formal-neutral; two objects share one predicate)

او نه‌تنها در تهران بلکه در تبریز نیز سابقه‌ی تدریس دارد.

u na-tanhâ dar Tehrân balke dar Tabriz niz sâbeqe-ye tadris dârad.

She has teaching experience not only in Tehran but also in Tabriz. (formal; parallel locative phrases, نیز)

In the first, را follows the final member and scopes over the whole coordinated object هزینه‌ها ... زمان اجرا. This is the ordinary placement for a single marker on an object chain; it does not mean that only زمان اجرا is an object. Formal balance is semantic and syntactic, while shared material such as را may appear once at the edge of the complete coordination.

English permits long interruptions after not only. Persian becomes difficult to process if نه‌تنها and its first member are separated. Keep the focus particle adjacent to what it scopes over.

💡

Delete the particles and inspect the coordinated cores. If “X and Y” would be a well-formed parallel coordination, نه‌تنها X بلکه Y هم will normally be structurally balanced.

When two short phrases share exactly the same predicate, place the verb once after the second member. With full clauses, different objects, polarity, or information structure often makes repeating the verb clearer.

این نرم‌افزار نه‌تنها سریع بلکه قابل اعتماد هم هست.

in narm-afzâr na-tanhâ sari' balke qâbel-e e'temâd ham hast.

This software is not only fast but also reliable. (neutral; one shared copula)

پژوهشگران نه‌تنها داده‌ها را جمع‌آوری کردند، بلکه نتایج اولیه را نیز منتشر کردند.

pazhuheshgarân na-tanhâ dâde-hâ râ jam'-âvari kardand, balke natâyej-e avvaliyye râ niz montasher kardand.

The researchers not only collected the data but also published the preliminary results. (academic; repeated verbs clarify full clauses)

In compact formal prose, a shared light verb can sometimes be omitted, but only when it forms a recognized predicate with both nonverbal elements. Do not sacrifice lexical accuracy for symmetry. The general mechanics appear on Coordination and Shared Constituents.

Negative propositions inside the frame

The نه of نه‌تنها is not ordinary verbal negation. If the first proposition itself is negative, its verb still needs negative morphology.

او نه‌تنها شکایت نکرد، بلکه از کارکنان تشکر هم کرد.

u na-tanhâ shekâyat na-kard, balke az kârkonân tashakkor ham kard.

He not only did not complain, but even thanked the staff. (neutral; first proposition is genuinely negative)

قطار نه‌تنها دیر نرسید، بلکه ده دقیقه زودتر هم وارد ایستگاه شد.

qatâr na-tanhâ dir na-resid, balke dah daqiqe zud-tar ham vâred-e istgâh shod.

The train was not only not late; it arrived ten minutes early. (neutral; expectation strongly reversed)

These differ from نه X، بلکه Y “not X but Y.” Without تنها, corrective نه ... بلکه rejects X and replaces it with Y. With نه‌تنها, X is included and Y is added.

او نه مترجم، بلکه ویراستار متن بود.

u na motarjem, balke virâstâr-e matn bud.

She was not the translator but the text’s editor. (formal corrective; translator is rejected)

او نه‌تنها مترجم، بلکه ویراستار متن هم بود.

u na-tanhâ motarjem, balke virâstâr-e matn ham bud.

She was not only the translator but also the text’s editor. (formal additive; both roles are true)

💡

Use the truth test: نه X بلکه Y makes X false; نه‌تنها X بلکه Y هم makes both X and Y true, with Y presented as the expansion.

Information order and formal balance

The second member normally carries the stronger or less expected information. Reversing the pair can be grammatical but pragmatically flat: saying “not only extraordinary but also good” moves from stronger to weaker. Plan the scale before writing.

In formal prose, repeat prepositions and determiners when they help readers see parallel structure. In conversation, speakers often prefer simpler هم X هم Y “both X and Y” or نه‌فقط ... بلکه .... نه‌فقط is neutral-spoken; نه‌تنها is at home in both careful speech and formal writing.

— سفر چطور بود؟ — نه‌فقط خوش گذشت، بلکه چند دوست تازه هم پیدا کردیم.

— safar chetor bud? — na-faqat khosh gozasht, balke chand dust-e tâze ham peydâ kardim.

— How was the trip? — Not only did we have a good time, we also made a few new friends. (neutral conversation; نه‌فقط)

Punctuation

A comma before بلکه is useful between full clauses and long phrases. It is often omitted in a very short shared-predicate frame: نه‌تنها سریع بلکه دقیق است. Do not put a comma immediately after نه‌تنها, because that separates the focus marker from its constituent.

Common Mistakes

1. Copying English inversion

❌ نه‌تنها کرد او اعتراض، بلکه جلسه را ترک کرد.

Incorrect — Persian does not invert subject and verb after نه‌تنها.

✅ او نه‌تنها اعتراض کرد، بلکه جلسه را هم ترک کرد.

u na-tanhâ e'terâz kard, balke jalase râ ham tark kard.

He not only objected but also left the meeting.

2. Coordinating unlike structures

❌ او نه‌تنها کتاب را بلکه فیلم دید.

Incorrect parallelism — کتاب را is an object, while فیلم دید is a clause.

✅ او نه‌تنها کتاب را خواند، بلکه فیلم را هم دید.

u na-tanhâ ketâb râ khând, balke film râ ham did.

She not only read the book but also watched the film.

3. Reversing the intended polarity

⚠️ این روش نه‌تنها مفید نیست، بلکه ارزان هم نیست.

in ravesh na-tanhâ mofid nist, balke arzân ham nist.

This method is not useful—and it is not even inexpensive. Grammatical, but it cannot express the intended praise.

✅ این روش نه‌تنها مفید است، بلکه هزینه‌ی کمی هم دارد.

in ravesh na-tanhâ mofid ast, balke hazine-ye kami ham dârad.

This method is not only useful but also inexpensive.

4. Separating the focus marker from its phrase

❌ این طرح نه‌تنها، برای شرکت بلکه برای مشتریان مفید است.

Incorrect punctuation — no comma belongs between نه‌تنها and the phrase it focuses.

✅ این طرح نه‌تنها برای شرکت، بلکه برای مشتریان هم سودمند است.

in tarh na-tanhâ barâ-ye sherkat, balke barâ-ye moshtariyân ham sudmand ast.

This plan benefits not only the company but also its customers.

Key Takeaways

نه‌تنها ... بلکه affirms X and adds a stronger or less expected Y.
Put the two particles before parallel constituents; use هم or formal نیز to reinforce addition.
Share a predicate only when both members select exactly the same structure.
A genuinely negative first proposition still needs a negative verb.
نه X بلکه Y corrects X; نه‌تنها X بلکه Y هم includes both.

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